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David Drake (actor)
Encyclopedia
David Drake is an American
playwright
, stage director, actor
and author
. He is best-known as the author and original performer of The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, for which he received a Village Voice Obie Award
, a 1994 Drama-Logue Award
for "Outstanding Solo Performance," and a Robbie Stevens Frontiers Magazine Award for the same. Nominations include a 1994 LA Weekly Theater Award
and a Lambda Literary Award nomination for "Best New Play of 1994" (published by Anchor Books
).
, and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, he later began going by David Drake. He has contributed articles to the Advocate
, TheaterWeek
, and Details
. One of the longest one-actor plays in Off Broadway history, Larry Kramer has received over thirty productions in nearly a dozen countries, and the published version was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award
.
In 2000 Drake starred in a movie version of The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me. The movie was directed by Tim Kirkman
and was filmed at Baltimore Theatre Project
.
David Drake has appeared in the feature film Philadelphia
and on the stage in Vampire Lesbians of Sodom
, Pageant, The Boys in the Band
, and A Language of Their Own.
He now lives in New York City
.
Print
As a director, David has directed Eric Bernat's Starstruck, That Woman: Rebecca West Remember, starring Anne Bobby, and The Be(a)st of Taylor Mac, written and performed by Taylor Mac, which won a Herald Angel Award, A Latest Award, and an Argus Angel Award. In May, 2009, his production of James Edwin Parker's 2 Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter's Night played to sold-out houses and rave reviews as part of the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival. He is currently working on directing Songs My Mother Never Taught Me, written and performed by Deborah Karpel, which premiered at the Rührfestspiele in Recklinghausen, Germany in June, 2009.
In July, 2009, he participated in the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, workshopping Taylor Mac's five act musical Lily's Revenge. This was his second trip to Sundance, having directed the workshop of Edmund White's Terre Haute in 2005.
He is a frequent collaborator of New York producer Paul Lucas, for whom he has directed that Woman, The Be(a)st of Taylor Mac, Stand Up/Lie Down, and Songs My Mother Never Taught Me.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, stage director, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He is best-known as the author and original performer of The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, for which he received a Village Voice Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
, a 1994 Drama-Logue Award
Drama-Logue Award
The Drama-Logue Award was a theater award established in 1977, given by the publishers of Drama-Logue newspaper, a weekly west-coast theater trade publication. Winners were selected by the publication's theater critics, and would receive a certificate at an annual awards ceremony...
for "Outstanding Solo Performance," and a Robbie Stevens Frontiers Magazine Award for the same. Nominations include a 1994 LA Weekly Theater Award
LA Weekly Theater Award
LA Weekly Theater Award is an annual critics' award established in 1979, given by the LA Weekly for outstanding achievements in small theatre productions in Southern California...
and a Lambda Literary Award nomination for "Best New Play of 1994" (published by Anchor Books
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
).
Biography
Born as David Drakula June 27, 1964, in Edgewood, MarylandEdgewood, Maryland
Edgewood is a census-designated place in Harford County, Maryland, United States. The population was 23,378 at the 2000 census.-History:Pooles Island Light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.-Geography:...
, and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, he later began going by David Drake. He has contributed articles to the Advocate
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
, TheaterWeek
TheaterWeek
TheaterWeek was a favorite magazine among theater artists and theater lovers. It covered Broadway, off-Broadway, regional, and educational theater with articles theat included profiles of actors, directors, designers and behind the scenes looks at particular shows...
, and Details
Details (magazine)
Details is an American monthly men's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications, founded in 1982. Though primarily a magazine devoted to fashion and lifestyle, Details also features reports on relevant social and political issues.-History:...
. One of the longest one-actor plays in Off Broadway history, Larry Kramer has received over thirty productions in nearly a dozen countries, and the published version was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Award
Lambda Literary Awards are awarded yearly by the US-based Lambda Literary Foundation to published works which celebrate or explore LGBT themes. Categories include Humor, Romance and Biography. To qualify, a book must have been published in the United States in the year current to the award...
.
In 2000 Drake starred in a movie version of The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me. The movie was directed by Tim Kirkman
Tim Kirkman
Writer and director Tim Kirkman was born on November 2, 1966 in Monroe, North Carolina, the third child of a public school educator and a music teacher, and spent his childhood in nearby Wingate, North Carolina....
and was filmed at Baltimore Theatre Project
Baltimore Theatre Project
The Baltimore Theatre Project is an internationally-recognized performing arts center located at 45 West Preston Street in Baltimore, Maryland.-Early years:...
.
David Drake has appeared in the feature film Philadelphia
Philadelphia (film)
Philadelphia is a 1993 American drama film that was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia. It was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Jonathan Demme. The film stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington...
and on the stage in Vampire Lesbians of Sodom
Vampire Lesbians of Sodom
Vampire Lesbians of Sodom is a satirical play written by Charles Busch. It features a series of vignettes that deals with the lives of two eponymous immortal vampire lesbians, a creature known as The Succubus who is also known as La Condessa or Magda Legerdemaine, and the virgin-turned-vampire who...
, Pageant, The Boys in the Band
The Boys in the Band
The Boys in the Band is a 1970 American drama film directed by William Friedkin. The screenplay by Mart Crowley is based on his Off Broadway play of the same title, Crowley penned a sequel to the play years later entitled The Men From The Boys...
, and A Language of Their Own.
He now lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
- The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, New York : Anchor Books, 1994, 112 pages, ISBN 0-385-47204-8
Film
- The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, filmed in 1999, also on DVD and video, 2002 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0219210/
Stage
- Pageant
- Vampire Lesbians of SodomVampire Lesbians of SodomVampire Lesbians of Sodom is a satirical play written by Charles Busch. It features a series of vignettes that deals with the lives of two eponymous immortal vampire lesbians, a creature known as The Succubus who is also known as La Condessa or Magda Legerdemaine, and the virgin-turned-vampire who...
- The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, Summer 1992 http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=3602
- Son of Drakula
As a director, David has directed Eric Bernat's Starstruck, That Woman: Rebecca West Remember, starring Anne Bobby, and The Be(a)st of Taylor Mac, written and performed by Taylor Mac, which won a Herald Angel Award, A Latest Award, and an Argus Angel Award. In May, 2009, his production of James Edwin Parker's 2 Boys in a Bed on a Cold Winter's Night played to sold-out houses and rave reviews as part of the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival. He is currently working on directing Songs My Mother Never Taught Me, written and performed by Deborah Karpel, which premiered at the Rührfestspiele in Recklinghausen, Germany in June, 2009.
In July, 2009, he participated in the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, workshopping Taylor Mac's five act musical Lily's Revenge. This was his second trip to Sundance, having directed the workshop of Edmund White's Terre Haute in 2005.
He is a frequent collaborator of New York producer Paul Lucas, for whom he has directed that Woman, The Be(a)st of Taylor Mac, Stand Up/Lie Down, and Songs My Mother Never Taught Me.